Nitric oxide production by Peromyscus yucatanicus (Rodentia) infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana

Peromyscus yucatanicus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) is a primary reservoir of Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). Nitric oxide (NO) generally plays a crucial role in the containment and elimination of Leishmania. The aim of this study was to determine the amount of NO produced by P. yucatanicus infected with L. (L.) mexicana. Subclinical and clinical infections were established in P. yucatanicus through inoculation with 1 x 10² and 2.5 x 10⁶ promastigotes, respectively. Peritoneal macrophages were cultured alone or co-cultured with lymphocytes with or without soluble Leishmania antigen. The level of NO production was determined using the Griess reaction. The amount of NO produced was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.0001) in co-cultured macrophages and lymphocytes than in macrophages cultured alone. No differences in NO production were found between P. yucatanicus with subclinical L. (L.) mexicana infections and animals with clinical infections. These results support the hypothesis that the immunological mechanisms of NO production in P. yucatanicus are similar to those described in mouse models of leishmaniasis and, despite NO production, P. yucatanicus is unable to clear the parasite infection.